'Dragon Tattoo' travel: How to see Stockholm like Stieg Larsson

Christopher Makos (L) and Paul Solberg (R), aka The Hilton Brothers.Two artist-photographers have traced the footsteps of Stieg Larsson's crime-beating heroes to create a travel book with a Millennium series hook.

The travelogue "Tattoos Hornets Fire," produced in conjunction with VisitSweden, isn't a traditional, broad-view travel guide.

Instead, it shows readers where to eat like Larsson and live like Lisbeth Salander, the fictional protagonist of the writer's "Dragon Tattoo" novels.

Known artistically as the Hilton Brothers, Americans Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg present a grungy and dreamy Sweden centered on the Swedish novelist Larsson’s three novels: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "The Girl Who Played with Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest."

“Our travel book is not a Fodor’s guide and it is beyond Lonely Planet,” says Makos.

“We don’t want to do a usual travel book. We want to do it like our usual artwork. So we came up with this idea of a hybrid travelogue inspired by Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Series.”

The book combines the visual aspects of the trilogy -- the protagonists' houses, the police headquarters, tattoo parlors -- with the things the artists encountered during their time in Sweden -- the national pastry, the Princess Cake, an open-air museum and Swedes.

Mikael Blomkvist's apartment

Mikael Blomkvist's apartment, made famous by the Swedish thriller novels.

Mikael Blomkvist, the protagonist of the Millennium series, lived in an 1888 building on 9 Fiskargatan.

The photographers captured the apartment in black and white.

Mikael Blomkvist's apartment, 9 Fiskargatan

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified this apartment as that of Lisbeth Salander. The error was due to miscommunication between CNN and the photographers. Thanks to our eagle-eyed readers for alerting us to the mistake.

Stieg Larsson's favorite café

Larsson's favorite sandwich -- too dry for the artists.

Stieg Larsson's love of grilled cheese sandwiches and coffee was reflected in his characters’ staple meal.

Philosophical tattoo parlor

The photographers begin their guide with a spread of a man getting tattooed in this tattoo parlor.

“The Swedes have such an interesting take on this idea of tattooing and body modification,” says Solberg.

“It is very different from the American tattoo parlors which often have an underground, subculture feeling. But in Stockholm, the body modification parlor and tattoo parlor are academic and philosophical.”

Östermalm, the elegant neighborhood

Östermalm, a district with fine stores and structures.

Getting further away from the main locations in the series, the photographers came to Östermalm, a picturesque part of the city.

The artists write in the book: "Stately Strandvägen Street runs along the Baltic Sea, aligned with Linden trees and stunning late-nineteenth-century facades and lavish doorways."

Landmarks in the district include the 17th-century Crown Bakery, which now houses the Stockholm Music Museum, the Royal Dramatic Theater and numerous restaurants and bars.